If you want something similar in color and fits well in a 75g, Herotilapia multispinosa (Rainbow cichlids) are way more calmer the G. brasilensis, and are the the lower end for aggression among Centrals.
Geophagus Brasiliensis question
- Thread starter Coopdaville
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I really appreciate that! I’ll see what I can do to source them. So far I have found 1 sveni, a bunch of brasilensis, and about 5 rio yillmar locally. Cannot find any other geos and I’m really trying not to ship.
I think the other thing you might need is a little bit of patience to let things sort out. Every change you make to the cichlid population results in the fish applying pressure to one another. South and especially Central Americans as rule don’t tolerate the kind of population density that you are probbaly accustomed to with Africans- and that makes the balancing act tougher becuase you can’t rely on the aggression being distributed among the cichlids. Hence the oft times recommended dither fish or even target fish depending on the situation. It keeps the cichlids off each other a little bit as they have to deal with the barrage of little marauders.
Nyway. That was long winded when what I meant was- no matter what sa or ca you go with yourgoing to see a level of “working it out” that runs from interesting to nerve wracking in its turn and it pays tobe a patient fish keeper and let the fish do tjere thing a little bit.
Nyway. That was long winded when what I meant was- no matter what sa or ca you go with yourgoing to see a level of “working it out” that runs from interesting to nerve wracking in its turn and it pays tobe a patient fish keeper and let the fish do tjere thing a little bit.
I do absolutely agree with this as with the Africans it almost always worked out in a day or 2 but to see 1 of these 2 hanging out behind the filter outputs vertically has me a bit worried. She comes out to eat and then back in position as to not be seen. It just seems quite a bit rougher then I am used to. I’ll give it some time and see. I really hope they solve this.
As far as the sex of each I did vent the mystery fish. It is 1 male and 1 female. And as previously said I’m pretty sure this is a bad case of “he’s ready and she’s not” so it won’t last forever. Thank you for (whether you may have realized it or not) the words of encouragement! I got really excited about going to SA and CA from Africans but they do live up to their history of being brutes.
Do you have a way of separating them until she puts on some size?
Currently no. She’s not but about .5”-1” smaller then him so it’s not much of a difference. She’s almost there. I’ll take some of the advice from earlier and get some lemon tetras or Buenos Aires tetras to kind of distract the aggression a little.
Only worry there is I have a real old fart living with them. 8” leopard bush fish that has probably a year or so left in him. He was on his way out and I WAS going to do an African tank (not cichlids) but ended up falling in love with the geos. But i am noticing his little 3” self pushing this 8” fish around the tank
Greatly appreciate your advice on adding some tetras as a dither. I added 5 only a few hours ago and it’s gone. Both G.B. Are following them. Not aggressively but it acted as a buffer for now. I’ll let them grow some while I find a more spacious tank for them and will then get them moved over. But again I really appreciate the help and just wanted you to know it did seem to help quite a bit. No more fighting and they are back to cruising together at all times!
‘Geophagus’ brasiliensis and the other similar-looking species in their group are not true Geophagus and will eventually be given their own genus. These fish are often large-growing, with brasiliensis males reaching up to 10” and having the aggression of Central American cichlids. The exception there is probably ‘Geophagus’ iporangensis, which is essentially like a miniature brasiliensis that tops out at 4 - 5”. Juveniles of brasiliensis and iporangensis are very difficult to tell apart, though, so you often have to grow them out to find out what their adult size will eventually be. ‘G.’ iporangensis are much less common than brasiliensis.
Geophagus sveni are part of the ‘true’ Geophagus — the surinamensis group. These fish are more peaceful (relatively) than the brasiliensis group. They do best in loose shoals and are true to the eartheater name, sifting sand in search of food. These will still reach 6 - 8”.
The last fish you mentioned being available locally sounds like Rio Olimar, which is the collection location for Gymnogeophagus labiatus. These also are not geos, but gymnos. Most of the gymno species are southern SA cichlids coming from temperate rather than tropical climates — southern Brazil, Uruguay, etc.
Unfortunately as adults you probably won’t even have space for a single pair of brasiliensis in a 75 because of their size and aggression. There also isn’t much room for small groups of true geos unless you pick a small species (Geophagus sp. Red Head Tapajos or Geophagus parnaibae, which is rare). G. sveni and similar would probably appreciate a larger tank if you keep them in groups.
Geophagus sveni are part of the ‘true’ Geophagus — the surinamensis group. These fish are more peaceful (relatively) than the brasiliensis group. They do best in loose shoals and are true to the eartheater name, sifting sand in search of food. These will still reach 6 - 8”.
The last fish you mentioned being available locally sounds like Rio Olimar, which is the collection location for Gymnogeophagus labiatus. These also are not geos, but gymnos. Most of the gymno species are southern SA cichlids coming from temperate rather than tropical climates — southern Brazil, Uruguay, etc.
Unfortunately as adults you probably won’t even have space for a single pair of brasiliensis in a 75 because of their size and aggression. There also isn’t much room for small groups of true geos unless you pick a small species (Geophagus sp. Red Head Tapajos or Geophagus parnaibae, which is rare). G. sveni and similar would probably appreciate a larger tank if you keep them in groups.
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Absolutely understand. For now I’ll leave them where they are and I’ll get a bigger tank going for them to move into. I’d rather not regime them as honestly I don’t see many people wanting them. Sooooo I’ll work it out and keep them! I appreciate the knowledge on these! Still very new to me and it seems like the information that is available is from “stores” and I don’t like info from stores. They want to sell me the fish whether I can keep it or not. So this post has been a huge help!
